3 NBA players with more points as teenagers than Victor Wembanyama ft Kevin Durant
Before turning 20 on Thursday, Victor Wembanyama was part of the rare group of NBA players who were teenagers when they debuted. Despite being so young, the French big man has still managed to put his name alongside some all-time greats.
Given his size and skill set, there was an endless amount of hype around Wembanyama. So far this season he has managed to live up to the hype. The San Antonio Spurs center is averaging a double-double and has delievered more than his fair share of highlight plays.
During the first 29 games of his career, Victor Wembanyama was one of the highest-scoring teenagers in league history. Here are some of the players who managed to outdo his production in that same span.
NBA players who outscored Victor Wembanyama as teenagers:
3) Carmelo Anthony
Kicking off this list is someone who barely beat Victor Wembanyama, Carmelo Anthony. He notched 551 career points in his first 29 games, three more than the 2023 No. 1 pick.
With his birthday being in May, Melo was a teenager for his entire rookie season. He finished the 2003-04 campaign averaging 21.0 points for the Denver Nuggets. The future Hall of Famer is top 10 all-time in scoring, sitting in ninth place with 28,289 points.
Anthony was drafted third overall in 2003 and went on to play 19 seasons. He retired in 2022 after appearing in 69 games for the LA Lakers.
2) LeBron James
Since he entered the NBA right out of high school, LeBron James was only 18 when he entered the league. Despite this, the LA Lakers star notched 575 career points in his first two months as a rookie. Roughly 30 more points than Victor Wembanyama.
LeBron was the No. 1 pick by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. He finished his first year in the league with averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists. This production allowed him to beat out Anthony for Rookie of the Year honors.
More than 20 years later, LeBron is still one of the league's top stars. Last season, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. LeBron currently sits at 39,452 career points and counting.
1) Kevin Durant
At this stage in his career, Kevin Durant is known as one of the greatest offensive talents the NBA has ever seen. He set the tone early, being a high-level scorer from the moment he step foot in the league.
Similar to Wembanyama, KD was 19 years old when he was drafted. In his first 29 games, he amassed 585 career points. This is still the highest number of points from a teenager in that span.
After being drafted second overall by the then Seattle Supersonics, Durant averaged 20.9 points as a rookie. He followed that up by averaging 25.3 points the next year. From there, Durant went on to win four scoring titles and solidify himself as one of basketball's most lethal scorers.